Friday, September 3
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
3
vs
1
Oakland
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
First-Half Flurry Pushes Spartan Soccer Past Oakland
9/3/2021 10:48:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Three different MSU players scored in the win.
East Lansing, Mich. - Three different Spartans found the back of the net, as the MSU men's soccer team scored three unanswered goals to stop Oakland, 3-1, Friday night at a rowdy DeMartin Stadium.
MSU improves to 2-1 to open its season-opening four-game homestand, while Oakland falls to 0-2-1.
"It was a great atmosphere. I wasn't sure with football, but the 9 p.m. kick probably helped. The students and the Rowdies have been awesome, and the community has really come out. This was a big character win for out guys here, coming off a tough loss to Akron," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "We started out really well, and then gave up that goal out of the blue. Other than that, we had a really good team performance. I am very proud of the guys, and its a good step for this team."
In its first game against an in-state rival, the Spartans controlled the run of play early in the first half, but it was the Golden Grizzlies who found of the back of the net first. In the ninth minute, Dylan Borczak found Mikey Ketterman, who chipped the ball over the head of MSU goalkeeper Hunter Morse for his first goal of the season.
After Oakland took the 1-0 lead, Michigan State took control. After blocked attempts by senior midfielder Michael Miller and sophomore midfielder Jack Zugay, it was redshirt-junior defender Will Perkins who found the equalizer. In the 19th minute, Perkins and junior forward Gianni Ferri came up the right side exchanging passes. Ferri eventually found Perkins, who slipped the ball past OU goalkeeper Alessio Carbone to tie the score.
Less than three minutes later, senior forward Farai Mutatu scored the eventual game winner for his first goal of the season. In the 22nd minute, Mutatu blasted an absolute firecracker off a ball from fellow senior Jack Beck to give MSU the 2-1 advantage.
"We were aggressive going forward and kept the pressure on them. On the goal, Gianni played a great ball to me, and I felt the defender on my back. I thought I had space behind me to shoot and turn. You don't score if you don't shoot, so I just tried to get it on target. I am happy to get a goal," Mutatu said.
The first half ended with the Spartans holding on to the 2-1 lead. Michigan State was solid on the attack in the first 45 minutes, out-shooting Oakland, 10-3.
The Spartans came out hot in the second half, but were unable to convert in the final third. Seniors Louis Sala and Miller both had shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Despite out-shooting the Grizzlies 10-4 in the second half, it wasn't until the 86th minute that MSU found the back of the net again. A Miller pass found Sala, who battled around an OU defender. The shot dribbled in to give the Spartans the decisive 3-1 lead.
The Spartans conclude their four-game homestand, taking on Bowling Green on Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. in a Labor Day battle.
MSU improves to 2-1 to open its season-opening four-game homestand, while Oakland falls to 0-2-1.
"It was a great atmosphere. I wasn't sure with football, but the 9 p.m. kick probably helped. The students and the Rowdies have been awesome, and the community has really come out. This was a big character win for out guys here, coming off a tough loss to Akron," MSU head coach Damon Rensing said. "We started out really well, and then gave up that goal out of the blue. Other than that, we had a really good team performance. I am very proud of the guys, and its a good step for this team."
In its first game against an in-state rival, the Spartans controlled the run of play early in the first half, but it was the Golden Grizzlies who found of the back of the net first. In the ninth minute, Dylan Borczak found Mikey Ketterman, who chipped the ball over the head of MSU goalkeeper Hunter Morse for his first goal of the season.
After Oakland took the 1-0 lead, Michigan State took control. After blocked attempts by senior midfielder Michael Miller and sophomore midfielder Jack Zugay, it was redshirt-junior defender Will Perkins who found the equalizer. In the 19th minute, Perkins and junior forward Gianni Ferri came up the right side exchanging passes. Ferri eventually found Perkins, who slipped the ball past OU goalkeeper Alessio Carbone to tie the score.
Less than three minutes later, senior forward Farai Mutatu scored the eventual game winner for his first goal of the season. In the 22nd minute, Mutatu blasted an absolute firecracker off a ball from fellow senior Jack Beck to give MSU the 2-1 advantage.
"We were aggressive going forward and kept the pressure on them. On the goal, Gianni played a great ball to me, and I felt the defender on my back. I thought I had space behind me to shoot and turn. You don't score if you don't shoot, so I just tried to get it on target. I am happy to get a goal," Mutatu said.
The first half ended with the Spartans holding on to the 2-1 lead. Michigan State was solid on the attack in the first 45 minutes, out-shooting Oakland, 10-3.
The Spartans came out hot in the second half, but were unable to convert in the final third. Seniors Louis Sala and Miller both had shots on goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Despite out-shooting the Grizzlies 10-4 in the second half, it wasn't until the 86th minute that MSU found the back of the net again. A Miller pass found Sala, who battled around an OU defender. The shot dribbled in to give the Spartans the decisive 3-1 lead.
The Spartans conclude their four-game homestand, taking on Bowling Green on Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. in a Labor Day battle.
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